Cleaning Cloth Seats

[nickmann]

Hi,

I've been trying to get my cloth seats clean. I've used practically every foamy/spray cleaner that I can get hold of, but have really only succeeded in moving the dirt around. This has actually made them look even more dirty 'cos now they're all patchy.

I would like to either take them out of the car and hose them down, or remover the covers and put them in the washing machine.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Oh how I wish I had leather!!

 

[Aletank]

I've never tried one but, How about one of these Hand Held Steam Cleaners ? you see them for about £30ish

Anyone ever tried them on car seats ?

 

[guydewdney]

how about a steam upholstery cleaner thingy from HSS or similar - aparantly about 15 quid a day to hire..?

much like a vax...

 

[nickmann]

Now those are good ideas! I seem to remember I've got a wallpaper stripper in the shed somewhere, hmm!!!!!

 

[Satch]

Attack them with Vax machine or similar cleaner which pumps water/cleaning fluid in then sucks it out immediately, taking grot with it. Takes two or three goes to get fabric looking OK because you cannot see the bits you have missed until it dries, but does work well on smooth-ish fabric. Anything heavily textured or ribbed is a bit more difficult.

Not sure about a steam cleaner: might break down the foam inside the seats?

 

[mark.t]

have it

you could always have leather £1200 - £1300 depending on trim. equate to £15 per day 4 attempts to clean seats let dry wait for patch, repeat, hire for a week £80 ish all clean then just wait for the next stains to appear and repeat process :bannana:

 

[sym]

Halfords Heavy Duty Foam Upholstery Cleaner has worked pretty well for me - although needed a few applications.

..... but I wish I had leather too !!

Need to find a real specialist to do mine though, as I have integrated rear child seats - so not just a standard re-trim - bit more complex. No hurry, but I will have it done one of these days.

S.

 

[mark.t]

you could always have leather £1200 - £1300 depending on trim. equate to £15 per day 4 attempts to clean seats let dry wait for patch, repeat, hire for a week £80 ish all clean then just wait for the next stains to appear and repeat process :bannana:

what about having it coverd in mb-tex it might be cheaper but just wipes clean :bannana:

 

[RichardM]

I've had similar problems as I've only got part leather. On the main fabric part of the seat I've had a couple of marks which I tried to remove and then once dried it looked much worse! You could see the water marks too.

I got rid of them in the end through repeated cleaning but I haven't found an easy way. I do have one of those hand held steamers, maybe I'll try that next time.

 

[Steve_Perry]

Another way to keep cloth interiors protected is to get tailor made seat covers from MB. They are exbenzive for seat covers but they fit perfectly and if they do get really grubby, you can remove them and throw them in the washing machine.

S.

 

[nickmann]

Update - Problem solved.

I went to a local DIY carwash place and lo and behold they have a proper machine. It's basically a scaled-down carpetcleaner. I drove the car into their indoor bay, handed over £6 (yes, really) and 90 minutes later emerged with a spotless (if damp) interior.

It sprays cleaner fluid into the cloth and sucks it out again in one go. I used about 10 litres of fluid, which came out FILTHY. The seats and carpet are now PERFECT. They even look almost shiny.

I will be doing this pretty often now, and will take the wife's car down there. I'm a bit gutted really, because I've spent 2 or 3 months, and about £40 on sprays and rubbing, when the full-blown solution was quick and cheap!! Ah well.

 

[jaymanek]

I read this too late, this is how i got min clean a couple of years back...great arent they!